College Draft Prospects Stat Roundup: Week 9

• North Carolina State lefthander Carlos Rodon turned in arguably his best start of the season against Duke, striking out 12 and getting 25 swinging strikes. His fastball sat 93-96 mph in his first two innings, hitting 97 and 98. The offering settled in at 91-95 mph and he hit 94 and 95 on his three final fastballs of the day. Rodon’s slider was at least a plus-plus offering and garnered 20 whiffs on the day. Rodon showed improved feel for his changeup, which showed the makings of a plus offering with considerable tumble. He demonstrated confidence in the offering by throwing a same-side changeup to the inside part of the plate on a 1-2 count against one of Duke’s best hitters, first baseman Chris Marconcini.

Rodon threw a season-high 134 pitches and is averaging 113 pitches on the season during games with available pitch counts (all but last week’s outing against Clemson). He averaged 112 pitches last season in 19 starts.

• Miami’s top two starters, lefthanders Chris Diaz and Andrew Suarez, dominated Pittsburgh, striking out more than one-third of hitters (34.5 percent) with a 9.5 strikeout-walk ratio. Suarez, who had been up to 96 earlier in the season, has reportedly sat in the low 90s in recent starts, touching higher. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Suarez hides the ball well and produces at least average fastball life, primarily arm-side run and sink. He has shown the makings of above-average control of a four-pitch mix, walking 1.5 per-nine in 64 innings on the year while striking out 6.7.

Diaz is a strike-thrower with a sneaky fastball that sat in the high 80s two weeks ago against North Carolina State, touching 90. He has been up to 92 this spring. His best secondary offering is his low 80s changeup, which he compliments with a slider. Although he entered the year with low career strikeout and walk ratios, both rates have increased. He is striking out 8.2 per-nine against 3.4 walks per-nine.

• Evansville lefthander Kyle Freeland followed up last week’s dominant outing against Charlotte, when he struck out 15, with arguably an even more impressive one against Wichita State. Freeland again struck out 15 without walking a hitter and allowed a lone run on four hits. His fastball sat in the low 90s and touched 94. Freeland, who struck out potential first-rounder Casey Gillaspie twice, continued to fill up the strike zone, as 74 percent of his pitches were strikes and he has a strikeout-to-walk ratio on the year of 18.8.

• Notre Dame righthander Pat Connaughton, who started every game for the basketball team and was third on the team in scoring (13.8 points per-game) and second in rebounding (7.1 rebounds per-game), had his best start this season since coming in late from the basketball season. The long-limbed, 6-foot-5, 214-pound Connaughton, who has a great pitcher’s body, threw a complete game against Boston College, striking out six. Although he has walked (19) more than he has struck out on the year (17), for a walk rate of 6.9 per-nine, Connaughton issued only one walk against Boston College. His fastball has consistently been in the low 90s this season, touching 94, and his secondary stuff lags behind given how little mound time he has accrued.

• Pepperdine lefthander/outfielder Aaron Brown, who sustained injuries last season as a draft-eligible sophomore, continues to control the strike zone, walking two of the 28 hitters he faced against Brigham Young over seven innings. He has walked 2.3 per-nine while striking out 8.9 per-nine. The 6-foot-1, 222-pound Brown has strength throughout his large frame and a powerful lower half. Brown, who has a quick arm and four-pitch mix, has mostly pitched with average fastball velocity this season, according to evaluators. The center fielder is also hitting .328/.372/.569 with 18 extra-base hits.

• San Diego catcher Connor Joe has been a consistent offensive performer since the start of the season. He clubbed another five extra-base hits over the weekend, giving him 23 on the year to go with a triple-slash line of .395/.483/.646. The righthanded hitter has more walks (21) than strikeouts (19). The 6-foot, 205-pound Joe is athletic with a strong, sturdy build and runs well for the position. He can post above-average pop times.

• A hulking slugger at 6-foot-5, 245 pounds, Texas Christian first baseman Kevin Cron has some of the best raw power in the college class, at least plus-plus, but faced questions about his ability to get to that power after hitting .208/.280/.276 with a 21 percent strikeout rate and 5 percent walk rate last season. While questions about his hitting ability remain, the righthanded-hitting Cron displayed that light-tower power in game action over the weekend, hitting a pair of home runs and a double. His strikeout rate has fallen to 15.7 percent with an increase in his walk rate to 8.5 percent, although his line remains at .266/.379/.453. Cron is a bottom-of-the-scale runner with a below-average arm likely limited to first base or designated hitter.